Opinion: Dating at a Small School is Bad for Our Health

I’ve never dated anybody at this school because it is a bad idea. Since my first year here, in the sixth grade, I’ve seen how messed up dating can be at a small school. The size often leads to rocky relationships, which usually results in a bad breakup that the entire school gets to witness. Sure, there have been a handful of couples that have lasted, but they make the rest of us uncomfortable and nervous for the fallout that will ensue when they come to an end. Therefore, I say that people in small schools should not date one another for the sake of everyone’s mental health. Take your love life elsewhere. Get out there and find someone other than a fellow pigeon to fall in love with. Here are four reasons:

1) Small size

Pretty much everyone is connected in one way or another, so news travels fast. That girl you just broke up with will tell her friends in Algebra about you, they’ll tell all their friends in English and pretty soon no one will want to be your new beau because they now know all your dating downfalls. Also, fewer people means gossip spreads faster. You and your boyfriend got into a fight? Everyone knows. You’re planning a surprise party for his birthday? No longer a surprise. Even teachers know what’s going on just from in-class interactions (also, not the mention getting caught kissing in the hallways).

2) It feels like you’re dating your sibling.

Most of us here have known each other since middle school and therefore our classes work more like families. One day you’re sitting in English looking around, searching for reasons to like someone in your class, but you can’t overlook their weird quirks or annoying habits. But once you finally find a reason to like someone and start dating, you realize you already know everything there is to know about them. You spend way too much time with them at school and everything they do soon starts to get on your nerves. Also, not to mention, the lack of privacy. When dating someone at a small school, it is hard to maintain any sense of mystery. If you’re at school, feeling sick and looking disgusting, any future boyfriend or girlfriend will be turned off by you. Forever.

3) You have to see your ex everyday

At most high schools you can avoid your ex by ducking into side hallways or blending into the sea of thousands of kids. But here, you will most likely be partnered up with them in science or have to do a group project together. There is no avoiding each other. There is also no avoiding their new boyfriend or girlfriend. You will eventually have to face them with a new person and witness the love that you once had.

4) Friendships can end.

Everyone here knows that we have slim pickings and for that reason “bro code” and “girl code” become obsolete, meaning that your friend could very well date your ex and have no problem with it. You may never even have known that your buddy had the hots for your ex, but once he asks her to winter formal or kisses her on the retreat, your friendship is unsalvageable. There’s no forgiving your friend after he or she steals your ex. You might think you’re okay with them dating, but as soon as you see them holding hands while walking down the street, you’ll have a vendetta against them both.

So please, for the sake of everyone’s well-being, date elsewhere. It benefits everyone in the end. There are so many upsides to dating someone from a different school. You get to go to another prom, you’ll be the cool person with a boyfriend or girlfriend that no one knows and you won’t have to handle all the drama that comes along with going to school with your significant other. Even better, make up a story about someone you’re dating in Seattle. Also, you won’t have to worry about your friends stealing your boyfriend or girlfriend. We all don’t have to deal with your problems, you don’t have to deal with us getting involved in your problems, and we’ll have better school dances with more people.